The invention concerns itself with a tensioning arrangement with a damping device for a belt drive of the type with a belt engaging tensioning roller on a pivotally mounted roller lever which is connected to a pretensioning spring to apply pretensioning force to the belt.
With known tensioning arrangements, the tensioning or tightening and loosening of the belts of a belt drive is laborious and not entirely without danger and cannot be accomplished outside of a work shop without problems. Furthermore the adjustment of the correct belt pretensioning force is time consuming.
The problem which the present invention is concerned with relates to the provision of a tensioning device for a belt drive, wherein a belt can be installed in the shortest time and can also quickly be removed, and further wherein pretensioning of the belt can be simply accomplished. Furthermore the vibration resulting from the deviations in the rotational form or shape of the driving or the driven aggregates experienced by the tensioning device should be efficiently damped. Beyond this, the tensioning arrangement of the belt drive should function maintenance free.
According to preferred embodiments of the invention, the above-noted problems are solved by providing an arrangement wherein a pivotal spring tensioning lever is provided for selectively pretensioning and relaying the tensioning spring by means of a handle engageable in a receptacle of the spring tensioning lever. In preferred embodiments the tensioning spring is connected to one of two arms of the roller lever, the other arm of the roller lever being connected to a damping device when the roller lever is in operative position with the tensioning roller applying pretensioning force to the belt.
In especially preferred embodiments, the spring tensioning lever is fastened to a fixed support part when in its belt pretensioning position. A particularly advantageous and simple construction provides that the spring tensioning lever is attached to the fixed support part by a threaded bolt or screw extending through a bore in the spring tensioning lever. The damping device is preferably a telescoping type hydraulic or friction damper.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which show, for purposes of illustration only, a single embodiment in accordance with the present invention.